In general, photographing technology using X-rays is one of important technologies used to acquire an image of an inside of the human body in a medical field at the present time, and an image capturing apparatus using the X-rays is an X-ray photographing apparatus.
Such an X-ray photographing apparatus is being applied in the form of various apparatuses in order to capture an internal organ of the human body, a structure of teeth, or an image of the head.
In particular, the X-ray photographing apparatus used in a dental clinic is used to acquire an image required for a dental surgical procedure, such as orthodontics or treatment of the teeth, by capturing an image of the teeth and an image of the head.
An image of the teeth captured in a panorama manner using an X-ray photographing apparatus in the related art is shown in FIG. 1, and an image of the head is shown in FIG. 2.
Meanwhile, a configuration of the X-ray photographing apparatus according to the related art disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0904187 that has been already filed by the Applicant of the present application and has obtained a patent will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 through 6. The X-ray photographing apparatus according to the related art includes an X-ray generator 10 that generates X-rays, an X-ray detector 20 that detects the X-rays, and a collimator 80 that permits only a portion of the X-rays to pass through and blocks the rest X-rays.
The X-ray generator 10 is configured to make a turning movement along a curve path by rotating and driving a rotation driving unit 30 and radiates the X-rays. To this end, the X-ray generator 10 includes an X-ray light source (not shown) for generating the X-rays.
The X-ray detector 20 is mounted on a cephalo-acquisition portion that is disposed on a support body 60 so as to acquire an image of the head. In order to acquire an image of the teeth captured in a panorama manner, the X-ray detector 20 is mounted on a panorama acquisition portion.
The collimator 80 that is moved in parallel to the X-ray detector 20, is disposed on the support body 60. A slit is formed in the collimator 80 so that only a portion of the X-rays irradiated by the X-ray generator 10 reaches the X-ray detector 20. Thus, the collimator 80 permits only a portion of the X-rays irradiated by the X-ray generator 10 to pass through via the slit and blocks the rest X-rays so that damage of the human body caused by the X-rays is minimized Here, the slit is formed in the middle of the collimator 80 to be long in a lengthwise direction.
The X-ray photographing apparatus includes a base 41, a lift 42 installed perpendicular to the base 41, and a driving portion housing 43 disposed on an upper portion of the lift 42, which are a basic skeletal structure for mounting the X-ray generator 10 and the X-ray detector 20.
An actuator for the rotation driving unit 30, for example, a motor 31 is built in the driving portion housing 43 and generates a rotational force. A rotation body 50 is connected to the body unit. In greater detail, the rotation body 50 is coupled to a lower side of the driving portion housing 43.
The rotation body 50 is connected to the rotation driving unit, i.e., a rotation shaft 51 rotated by the motor 31, and the X-ray generator 10 is disposed on the rotation body 50, is moved integrally with the rotation body 50 and irradiates the head and/or teeth with the X-rays.
The X-ray photographing apparatus includes an image output portion (not shown) that outputs an image of a subject according to signals detected by the X-ray detector.
An alignment portion for aligning the human face so as to scan a line of the head may be disposed on the support body 60. The alignment portion includes a pair of ear fixing portions 68 through which both ears of the head face each other.
The X-ray photographing apparatus should acquire an image of the head when the X-ray detector 20 for acquiring an image of the head is distant from the X-ray light source by 1800 mm. This is to minimize distortion of the image.
However, the X-ray photographing apparatus in the related art has the following problems.
That is, in the X-ray photographing apparatus in the related art, the cephalo-acquisition portion is provided at an end of a support arm that extends to one side on an axis of the lift 42, and the panorama acquisition portion is mounted in front of the X-ray photographing apparatus. The X-ray photographing apparatus according to the related art is shown in a plan view of FIG. 4 or 6 from an upward direction. Since the cephalo-acquisition portion and the panorama acquisition portion are leaning to one side around the base 41, this is very disadvantageous in terms of a weight balance, and the X-ray photographing apparatus according to the related art is designed to have an unstable structure.
This is to prevent an interfered portion from being generated on a path of the X-ray light source when the X-ray photographing apparatus according to the related art is compacted while a distance from the X-ray light source to the X-ray detector 20 of the cephalo-acquisition portion is maintained at 1800 mm. However, as described above, this is unstable in terms of the weight balance.
Of course, a structure of the X-ray photographing apparatus in which the panorama acquisition portion and the cephalo-acquisition portion are separated from each other and two dedicated lifts are used, may be considered. However, in such a case, the lifts should be separately disposed at the respective panorama acquisition portion and the cephalo-acquisition portion when the panorama acquisition portion and the cephalo-acquisition portion are separated from each other. Thus, this causes an increase in production cost of a product, and there are many problems that a system is complicated so as to simultaneously control the heights of the X-ray light source and the cephalo-acquisition portion according to human height.
Thus, an X-ray photographing apparatus having an improved structure in which instability of the weight balance of the conventional X-ray photographing apparatus described above is removed so that mechanical stability of the X-ray photographing apparatus is improved and the X-ray photographing apparatus is capable of being compacted and an operation system of the X-ray photographing apparatus is simplified, is in urgent need of development.